HELSINKI, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Finland has sent three oil containment vessels to Estonian waters to help clean up an oil spill near Estonian north coast, Finnish media reported Friday.

    Authorities said more than 100 tonnes of oil may have leaked from a Dominican-flagged merchant ship that sank on March 5 in the Gulf of Finland. The Runner 4 vessel sank when it collided with another ship in a convoy escorted by a Russian icebreaker. The ship was carrying 35 tonnes of light fuel oil and over 100 tonnes of heavy fuel oil when it sank.

    The oil spill has spread as far as 60 kilometers from the sunken ship. Finnish authorities wanted to start cleaning it up well before any of the oil reaches Finnish waters.

    The Finnish ships have been helping out since Thursday at Finland's expense. Estonia lacks vessels to collect oil in icy conditions.

    The Estonian coast is still recovering from another spill in January that coated thousands of birds on the northwest coast. Enditem